Tuesday, May 13`, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 37
US News: Consumer prices rose less than expected in April, with the pace of annual inflation falling to its lowest level since early 2021, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday.
The consumer price index increased by 0.2% for the month, better than the 0.3% forecast, as price decreases for gasoline and groceries offset an increase in housing costs. The pace of annual price increases dipped to 2.3% from 2.4% in March.
It was the first full month reflecting some of the early import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. In April, President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on more than 70 countries but those were quickly postponed after markets sold off dramatically.
In the past few days, Trump has announced trade deals with the U.K. and China, but the latter is subject to further negotiations. Still, earlier tariffs targeting specific sectors including a baseline of 10% are in effect.
“Tariffs are still present and they are not going away anytime soon,” said Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer at Regan Capital. “Until tariffs are reduced to zero, inflation will present itself and creep into consumer prices and eventually interest rates.”
Economists had forecast a monthly gain of 0.3%, with the annual pace of inflation remaining steady.
Inflation has been moderating but is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target. Most economists say that even reduced tariffs that still represent the largest such levies in years will likely increase inflation in the near term.
One area where prices have come down is energy costs, with the price of a barrel of oil now down to around $60 and average gasoline prices near $3 a gallon.
The economy did contract by 0.3% in the first quarter but that was caused largely by a large increase in imports ahead of Trump’s tariffs. Economists expect that number to be revised. Still, the economy has shown some signs of slowing.
